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Bound
for Glory (page 2)
Slavery
provided a huge setback for Douglass throughout his life. His individuality drove
him to educate himself through any means possible. Douglass knew reading and writing
could contribute to his cause for freedom and, "though conscious of the difficulty
of learning without a teacher, [he] set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose,
at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read"1. In order to learn to
write he tricked local kids into having contests with him so that he could improve
his skill (63). Douglas learned how to read and write against all odds; these
skills provided him with the building blocks he needed to reach his ultimate goal,
freedom. Freedom was also the ultimate
goal of founding father Benjamin Franklin. Although they searched for a very different
type of freedom (personal v. national), both used their influence to help their
respective causes. Despite the noticeable time difference between Franklin and
Douglass and that Douglass was a slave a Franklin was not, the lives of these
two historic figures are strikingly similar. Franklin like Douglass lacked proper
schooling; he had to leave school to work for the family business. It is ironic
that both men had little to no schooling and gained their fame from writing, Franklin
from Poor Richard's Almanac and his autobiography, Douglass from his narrative.
Although neither attained a formal education, both Franklin and Douglass strove
for knowledge because of their internal drive and individuality. Bound
for Glory page 1 Bound
for Glory page 2 Bound for
Glory page 3 Bound for Glory
page 4 Bound for Glory page
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